In January 2003 I bought a Sony 34" CRT widescreen HDTV. At that time it cost about $2500 + the HDTV antenna + the HDTV set top box. (These sets sell for about $1500 these days)
I decided to buy a CRT because (1) plasma TVs were very expensive; (2) LCD projections were just coming out; and (3) the last Sony TV I owned was in the family since 1983 and still had a great picture.
Most of the time we watch analog cable and the set has a nice picture. DVDs look great as well. After we bought the TV we had to go out and buy a stand. This TV is a monster and weighs 225 pounds. So unless you bolt your TV to the wall, also consider that you might need to buy a stand to put it on...and interestingly they are not that cheap.
For certain TV shows and sports we turn on the HDTV and it's great. Analog TV is now $66/month with no pay channels. Add "digital cable" and another box and the bill would approach $80. Since many programs are not in HD we haven't signed up for the digital cable or the dish.
A while back Congress set a transition date for regular TV to DTV. Legislation is now pending in Congress (if it hasn't already passed) that set a date for the transition for sometime in 2008 or 2009.
I would like to buy a bigger set and have been reading about LCDs, Rear projection TVs and plasmas. The prices continue to come down. I really like the new Sony
50" Grand WEGA™ SXRD™ Rear Projection HDTVKDS-R50XBR1.
But at $4K (+ Sony stand for $500) that's alot of coin. I figure two years from now it will be selling for $1500 given my track record with electronics purchases. I bought a 4 megapixel Sony digital camera for $700 a couple of years ago...
Without an extended warranty, I worry about the cost to get one of these sets fixed. It's not like it would be easy to take it anywhere for service...and likely not inexpensive.
I was thinking about getting one of the $998 Walmart plasma TVs. I figure if I can get 4 years out of the set before it breaks I'll be ahead of the game. Being an "early adopter" gets expensive! And if it lasts until 2009 I could always get another decoder box (which will be subsized by Congress for many Americans). Sure it's not HDTV, but after a couple of beers I can't tell the difference anyway.
Finally if I did upgrade, what do I do with my current 34" set?